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T O P I C R E V I E W

stsmithva

Below you will find items signed by the full crews of Apollo 9, 14, 15, and 16. Along with images of the items, you'll find links to background information and recent auction sales for price comparisons. If you are interested, please send me an e-mail by clicking on the envelope icon, and I can send you a high-resolution scan or photo of an item.

Since each item costs several hundred dollars, I will accept two monthly installments for any of them.

$6 for Priority Mail shipping (except for the Apollo 16, which will be $20). If you would like insurance, that will be extra.

I hope you spot something you like!

Apollo 9 crew

8x10 NASA lithograph showing several scenes from this fascinating mission, with McDivitt signing on the CSM he was in, and Scott and Schweickart signing on pictures of them performing EVAs. Note that each signed with "Apollo 9" and then the abbreviation of their mission rank. On the verso there are four paragraphs explaining the images.

Recently Apollo 9 crew-signed photos have sold for $630, $471, and even just signed on the mat for$358.

This one is $325. That's less than the signing fees of just Scott ($200) and McDivitt ($150, plus another $25 for crew completion) at ASF next month.

stsmithva

Apollo 14 crew

Signed launch cover - well, actually it appears to be that from the front, but if one looks at the verso one will see that it is an envelope-sized postcard.

(You might notice that Shepard signed as "Al", which he did occasionally - on this note, for example.)

However, that one was a full envelope, and not addressed. Hence the good price on this one. $550

stsmithva

Apollo 15 crew

Signed red-serial-number Kodak glossy, with a great story behind it. It was originally owned by (and inscribed to) Danny Lawler. Lawler was a nationally known golf professional who became "Pro to the Astronauts" in 1969 when he was asked by Jim Lovell to give lessons to many of the astronauts.

This 1971 newspaper photo shows him giving Jim Irwin a lesson just days after splashdown!

The buyer will also receive a photocopy of a 1990 obituary, which mentions that Lawler became acquainted with many baseball players as a golf instructor, and as a hitting instructor for the New York Yankees suggested in 1949 that some players wear golf gloves while at bat. He introduced batting gloves to the game!

And finally, the buyer will receive a holiday card Mr. Lawler sent out one year during the Apollo program, with the autographs of dozens of astronauts reproduced under an... interesting picture of lunar golfing.

A similar Apollo 15 crew-signed photo recently sold for $693. While it's great that this one is a red-serial-number, official NASA Kodak glossy, there are condition issues: three tack holes, some small creases, and some spots over to the right side. It's possible that these spots could be removed by a restorer. $400

stsmithva

Apollo 16 crew

Signed large (20x24) photo mat, inscribed. (Please see the ruler in the photo for scale.)

The photo of the Apollo 16 splashdown has an inch-long scratch that is quite visible (although the original owner tried to cover it with marker) and a couple of smaller ones. It's also a little faded. You might want to place a new 16x20 print of an Apollo 16 photo on archival photo paper over it. And since the original photo is only about 15.5x19, the new photo would cover the inscription, making a wonderful display piece for your home.

In fact, since the excellent photo printing firm mpix.com is having a sale, if you buy this and want a new print, I will have it made for you and send it to you along with this signed item. You just need to pay for this item by Wednesday night, when the sale ends.

If you'd like to do this, I have three suggestions for very high-resolution, superb images. I've always been partial to this launch image: